Tag: Derek Brunson

Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan booked for UFC Fight Night event on August 1

Third time is the charm for Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan.

Looks like the third time is a charm for [autotag] Derek Brunson[/autotag] and [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag].

The two middleweight contenders have been booked to fight at a UFC Fight Night event on August 1. MMA Junkie confirmed the news after being first reported by UFC broadcast partner ESPN.

Both Brunson (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) and Shahbazyan (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) have been booked to fight twice prior. They were scheduled to fight once in March and once in April, but the fight was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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The 22-year-old Shahbazyan is regarded by many as one of the fastest rising pound-for-pound prospects in all of MMA. Managed by UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey and trainer Edmen Taverdyan, Shahbazyan has made Glendale Fighting Club proud by winning all four of his promotional bouts. He last fought in November at UFC 244, where he knocked out Brad Tavares.

Meanwhile, Brunson, a long-time UFC contender, is in the midst of a resurgence. After dropping back-to-back fights in 2018, Brunson defeated Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch in 2019 for a two-fight winning streak.

With the addition, the current Aug. 1 lineup includes:

  • Holly Holm vs. Irene Aldana
  • Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
  • Markus Perez vs. Eric Spicely

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LB Alex Highsmith training with UFC fighter

Steelers rookie linebacker Alex Highsmith is taking a unique approach to his offseason workouts.

While players are doing whatever they can to keep in shape until facilities reopen, Steelers rookie linebacker Alex Highsmith is training with UFC fighter Derek Brunson who is currently No. 8 in the world in the middleweight division.

Though Highsmith’s pros outweigh his cons, hand technique is a trait often noted as a weakness in scouting reports. Working with Brunson should get him plenty of practice on becoming more violent on the initial attack of defenders.

“We’re working on my hands, working on my cardio,” Highsmith said in a recent interview with Steelers reporter, Missi Matthews.

Highsmith shared that head coach Mike Tomlin approves of his offseason workout approach. “Coach Tomlin is actually a big UFC fan, so on our first Zoom call, I mentioned I was training with Brunson, and he got really excited.”

“It’s been really good training with Derek, and for however long I’m here, I’m going to continue training with him.”

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April Fools’ Day 2020: MMA community lightens mood through humor, pranks

April Fools’ Day has become notorious for faux fight announcements, bad fighter pranks, and more.

April Fools’ Day is once again upon us.

If you’re not skeptical of any and all news you read on April 1, you’ll likely fall into a trap. It’s easy to do so.

With the coronavirus situation having most of the world on quarantine, lockdown, or both, the MMA community went a little lighter than past years. However, there were still plenty of “jokes” to go around.

Below, check out some of the MMA community’s best social media posts from April Fools’ Day 2020.

View this post on Instagram

We have a baby! April Fools Day! But no for real we have a baby! @_kydavis started having contractions around midnight, we got to hospital around 4am and Detroit Ryan Davis was born at 9:31am! He is a BIG and healthy boy! 8lbs 10oz. First I want to give props to ANY & ALL mother’s out there! Child Birth is amazing, beautiful, & terrifying all in one! Kylie did amazing and is doing great! Detroit latched on to mommas 🥛 right away.. He has huge hands & feet and favors DK mostly. But has blonde/sandy brown hair! His middle name is for my brother(his uncle) and he was born the same day as Ryan’s first born, Kimora Rhyan Lynn. (Happy Birthday Kimora) We are so blessed and thankful God is good! 👶❤️🙏

A post shared by LC Davis (@lc_davis) on

 

Edmen Shahbazyan talks to MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun

UFC middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan talks to MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun about staying focused in today’s environment

UFC middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan talks to MMA Junkie’s Farah Hannoun about staying focused in today’s environment

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Derek Brunson off UFC 248, shifts to UFC on ESPN+ 30 in Portland

Edmen Shahbazyan and Derek Brunson will have to wait longer to fight each other.

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag] and Derek Brunson won’t be fighting each other at UFC 248 after all.

In a tweet posted on Thursday, the Shahbazyan announced his removal from his previously booked matchup with Brunson. However, Shahbazyan wrote the bout hasn’t been cancelled altogether. It’s just been delayed.

Instead of the fight happening at the March 7 pay-per-view in Las Vegas, Shahbazyan (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) vs. Brunson (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) will now take place April 11 at UFC on ESPN+ 30 in Portland, Ore. The change was first reported by Dutch website MMA DNA and subsequently confirmed by UFC broadcast partner ESPN, which cited promotion officials. ESPN reported that the fight has yet to be signed, however, while Brunson deals with an illness.

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At 22 years old, Shahbazyan is regarded by many as one of the fastest rising pound-for-pound prospects in all of MMA. Managed by Ronda Rousey and trainer Edmen Taverdyan, Shahbazyan has made Glendale Fighting Club proud by winning all four of his promotional bouts.

As for Brunson, the longtime UFC veteran is in the midst of a resurgence. After dropping back-to-back fights in 2018, Brunson defeated Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch in 2019.

With the switch, the latest UFC 248 lineup includes:

  • Champ Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero – for middleweight title
  • Champ Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for strawweight title
  • Li Jingliang vs. Neil Magny
  • Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quinonez
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Guido Cannetti
  • Gerald Meerschaert vs. Deron Winn
  • Polyana Viana vs. Emily Whitmire
  • Jamall Emmers vs. Movsar Evloev
  • Saparbek Safarov vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Austin Hubbard vs. Mark Madsen
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose
  • Max Griffin vs. Alex Oliveira

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Derek Brunson says Edmen Shahbazyan’s UFC 248 hype reminds him of himself

Derek Brunson is taking on another young prospect in Edmen Shahbazyan, a fighter he said he can relate to.

RALEIGH, N.C. – [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] is taking on another young prospect he can relate to.

Brunson (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) faces the undefeated [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at UFC 248. He said Shahbazyan reminds him of himself when he was tearing through the UFC’s middleweight ranks.

“Edmen is a young, reckless, confident guy,” Brunson told MMA Junkie this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 24 in Raleigh, N.C, a couple hours from his home base in Wilmington. “It’s kind of funny because I remember being his age and being where he was at and just having hype behind me. So I know what it feels like for him.”

But after a fast start in the UFC, Brunson went through his ups and downs. He lost fights to notable names and former champions, including Robert Whittaker and current middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. Their wins over Brunson springboarded them to title contention.

In his most recent outing, Brunson took on another surging middleweight in Ian Heinisch at UFC 241 and halted his five-fight winning streak. Brunson now has four wins in his past six fights.

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“This fight (against Shahbazyan), it kind of reminds me of the Israel fight,” Brunson said. “You’ve got a young guy with a lot of hype, undefeated. But again, it reminds me of my last fight with Ian Heinisch. (He was) near undefeated – 13-1. He had one blemish, but a lot of hype behind him. I kind of feel the same way. It’s my job to go out here, do my thing, and rack up another one after this one. I think that’ll put me right here at a title shot.”

Brunson has displayed a more composed approach in his current two-fight winning streak. He credited the change to his recent move to the Hard Knocks gym in South Florida, home to the likes of current UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.

“I think I’ve got a solid situation,” Brunson said. “I switched my training up over the past year and a half at Hard Knocks down in Florida, and we have a good group of guys who try and get each other better and come in the training room every day, and it’s more of a team effort. So it’s definitely been working out for me and working out in my fights, also.”

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Derek Brunson on Edmen Shahbazyan and the UFC’s middleweight division

Derek Brunson on Edmen Shahbazyan and the UFC’s middleweight division

Derek Brunson on Edmen Shahbazyan and the UFC’s middleweight division

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Derek Brunson booked for UFC 248

Edmen Shahbazyan will look to keep climbing the middleweight ladder at UFC 248.

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag] will look to keep climbing the ladder at 185 pounds.

Shahbazyan is set to meet [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] at UFC 248. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with a person with knowledge of the booking after an initial report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

UFC 248 takes place March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

The undefeated Shahbazyan (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has run through competition at middleweight. He continued to shine in his toughest test to date, scoring a first-round head-kick finish of Brad Tavares last November. The 22-year-old has aspirations of becoming the youngest UFC champion in history and has finished 10 of his 11 professional fights.

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After dropping two straight, Brunson (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) has turned things around by picking up back-to-back wins over Elias Theodorou and most recently Ian Heinisch at UFC 241 in August.

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With the addition, the UFC 248 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero – for middleweight title
  • Champ Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for women’s strawweight title
  • Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Guido Cannetti
  • Polyana Viana vs. Emily Whitmire
  • Li Jingliang vs. Neil Magny
  • Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose
  • Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quinonez
  • Max Griffin vs. Alex Oliveira
  • Saparbek Safarov vs. Rodolfo Vieira
  • Austin Hubbard vs. Mark Madsen

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